DELPHI, Ind. — Day 13 of the Delphi murders trial began with testimony about the mental deterioration of Richard Allen before turning to the hasty nighttime search for the missing girls and ending with the defense team grilling the former police chief. Allen is charged with four counts of murder stemming from the Feb. 13, 2017, deaths of Abby Williams and Libby German near the Monon High Bridge in Delphi. He was arrested five years after the girls' bodies were discovered. On Thursday, the prosecution rested after 12 days of presenting evidence and testimony against Allen. Prosecutors allege that Allen is "Bridge Guy," the man captured on Libby's cell phone who is believed to be the brutal killer in the long-unsolved double murder case. On Friday, Allen's defense team continued to call witnesses to the stand as they slowly work at poking holes in the prosecution's case in hopes of exonerating their client. This included grilling the former Delphi police chief in an attempt to discredit one of the prosecution's key witnesses. Delphi murders trial: Day-by-day summary of the proceedings An 'out of place' car Brad Heath was the first witness called after lunch on Friday. He lives just outside Delphi and drove to Anderson's grain elevator while working on Feb. 13, 2017. Heath said he drove past the old CPS building near the Monon High Bridge trails at around 8:45 a.m. and spotted a parked vehicle about halfway down the road. When he drove past later at 1:42 p.m., he said the vehicle was still there. He described it as an “older vehicle” that was a faded, dark blue. He estimated the vehicle was a late 80s or early 90s model. “Just looked out of place,” he said. Heath told police about the vehicle one week after the girls’ died and spoke to law enforcement several times over the course of the investigation. When asked how far away he was from the parked vehicle, Heath estimated 150 to 200 feet. Heath said he didn’t notice if there were any other vehicles parked at the old CPS building. During a cross-examination, Health clarified the old car he saw was not parked in the parking lot of the CPS building but about halfway down the road near the building. Prosecutors have previously laid out testimony that included footage captured from the CPS building that they believe is Allen's 2016 Ford Focus SE. Monon High Bridge A high bridge photographer David McCain took the stand next and told jurors he was out walking on the Monon High Bridge the day Abby and Libby vanished. McCain is 79 years old and lives north of Delphi. He said he was on the trails between 2 and 3 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2017. McCain was walking around with his camera and taking photographs. He recalled passing Cheyenne Mill, who spoke on Day 12 of testimony about being on the bridge between 3 and 4 p.m. and seeing an old man with a camera around his neck. McCain said he parked at the Mears entrance and saw two or three vehicles parked there. He left around 4 p.m. and didn’t see anyone on 300 North. During previous testimony, witnesses described seeing a man "muddy and bloody" walking on 300 North the day the girls' vanished. He told jurors that during his time on the trails and the bridge he never saw or heard anything unusual. McCain did reach out to the sheriff’s department after hearing of the girls’ deaths. FBI agents spoke to him less than a week later. McCain gave the photographs he took to police. He said he’d been interviewed several times over the years including being asked about capturing any cars in the background of his photos. Former fire chief takes part in nighttime search Delphi native Darrell Sterrett told jurors about taking part in the nighttime search for the missing girls. Sterrett has served on the Delphi Fire Department for 36 years including a stint recently as fire chief. Sterrett told the jurors about how he helped organize the “hasty search” on the night of Feb. 13, 2017. Sterrett said he wanted boots on the ground quickly. “My thought was they were hunkered down, cold and scared… waiting for us to find them,” Sterrett said. The search party consisted of five or six people and began at around 9:30 or 10 p.m. Former Delphi Police Chief Steve Mullin and former Carroll Co. Sheriff Tobe Leazenby directed the search. Sterrett said he drove his own personal vehicle and parked on Theresa Liebert’s property on 625 West. He walked down a private drive toward the Monon High Bridge. The search lasted until 2:30 a.m. and didn’t find the girls or any signs of them. Sterrett said his party searched in the general area of the high bridge. He thinks they briefly searched the east side of the bridge along with north and south of the creek. Police and family members were also searching during this timeframe and Sterrett recalled seeing flashlights across the creek as people searched for the girls. He said it was "very dark" during the search. "Did you check in the creek?" "Somebody may have," he said. After checking the deposition, Sterrett recalled that people did shine their lights into the creek and didn't see any clothes. Sterrett clarified that a “hasty search” meant to quickly cover a lot of ground. When asked if he searched the area southeast of the cemetery, Sterrett said he didn’t personally search in that area. The girls’ bodies were found southeast of the cemetery along Deer Creek on Feb. 14. It was noted that during Sterrett’s testimony, he couldn’t recall details of the search or the night and had to reference his deposition. Carroll County Courthouse interior on Oct. 17, 2024 Steve Mullin returns to stand Former Delphi police chief Steven Mullin was called once again to the witness stand as the defense team pushed on his previous testimony and attempted to poke holes in the prosecution's case. Mullin was questioned about the deleted interviews from the early days of the investigation when an error caused the police station's DVR to record over numerous interviews conducted by police in the days after the girls vanished. Special Judge Fran Gull has previously ruled that these interviews were deleted due to human error, not in bad faith. "There was nothing I could do to recover the interviews," Mullin said. Dozens of interviews were lost, according to Mullin's testimony, though some video was recovered but without audio. Mullin agreed with the attorneys that an interview without audio wouldn't be very helpful. Next, the defense pressed Mullin about Brad Weber's interview. Weber provided a potentially damning piece of information in his testimony when he told jurors that he returned home from work at around 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2017, in a white van. This testimony could add credence to a prison confession made by Allen where he told a psychologist that he led Abby and Libby down a hill to rape them before he was spooked by a passing van and decided to kill the girls. Weber lives near the murder scene and traveled down an access road on 625 North that sees little traffic. The defense pushed on Weber's account, trying to discredit the testimony. On Day 11, when Weber testified, the defense implied that Weber didn't drive straight home from work and instead stopped to work on ATMs or drop off a trailer. This would change his timeline and not put him at home at 2:30 p.m., around the time Libby's phone stopped moving at the murder scene. Weber denied this, saying those events occurred at another time. "Are you aware if Brad (Weber) has changed his story?" Defense attorney Andrew Baldwin asked Mullin. "Yes, there is some conflict about it," Mullin answered. Mullin said Weber has a side job working on ATMs but did tell Mullin he drove straight home from work on Feb. 13. Baldwin pointed out that Weber owned a Sig Saur, the same type of gun that Allen owned which prosecutors linked him to the murder through. But during cross-examination, Mullin revealed that Weber's gun was collected and tested but wasn't found to be a match for the unspent round found between the girls' bodies. The defense continued to lean on Mullin, asking him why sticks were placed on the girls' bodies. "I don't know." He was asked when law enforcement learned the psychologist Allen spoke to in prison was a true crime fan who followed the Delphi case. "I don't know." He was asked if there was ever an Amber Alert for the girls. "I don't remember." He was asked if Richard Allen was ever mentioned in the thousands of tips they received. "No." He was asked how many times Allen confessed to the crime before going to Westville prison. "None." When asked about the search for the girls on Feb. 13, Mullin stated he was not aware of any searchers going within 100 yards of where the girls were found on Feb. 14. Mullin affirmed that he believes one person committed this crime. "How long have you thought that?" he was asked. "Since the arrest of Richard Allen," Mullin said. During Mullin's testimony, it was also revealed there were trail cams in the area, but not pointed in the direction of the girls' bodies. Prosecution cross-examined Mullin. Not only did the police chief deny feeding Weber information about the van, but Mullin stated phone records backed up Weber's account of driving straight home after work. Mullin said Weber handed over his Sig Saur which was taken to the lab. "It was determined that it was not the weapon connected to the bullet found at the scene," Mullin said. Former sheriff takes stand Former Carroll County Sheriff Tobe Leazenby took the stand after Mullin. He was sheriff from 2015 until 2022. Leazenby said he didn't play a huge role in the investigation. When asked how many people he thought were involved in the murders, he said that, initially, he didn't know. But after Allen's arrest, he believed it to be only one person. The defense presented a deposition from August 2023 where Leazenby referenced believing that multiple people could have been involved. "You felt 10 months after his arrest that at least two people were involved?" Baldwin pointed out. Leazenby pointed out that in the early days of the investigation some of the investigators, including current Sheriff Tony Liggett, believed multiple suspects could be involved. "It was based upon the totality of the information provided to investigators at that time period," Leazenby said. During cross-examination, prosecutors pointed out how Leazenby admitted to not knowing much about the investigation. The defense pointed out he was sheriff at the time of the girls' murders. The jury asked Leazenby how many murders he had personally investigated. He said he hadn't personally investigated any. Testimony ended for the day after Leazenby stepped down from the stand. A few motions were discussed including a motion asking FBI Agent Adam Pohl to be able to remotely testify. Pohl wrote the report that included Weber's interview about driving home in his van on Feb. 13. Pohl is unable to travel due to working in Texas and the defense wanted to speak to him about Weber's account as they continue to look to poke holes in his story. Gull denied the request to allow Pohl to remotely testify. Gull also denied yet another motion made by the defense that asked for them to present their alternative killing theory. The defense argued that some of the trial's testimony reopened the matter while the prosecution countered by saying it was the defense who reintroduced the elements of their theory.